19th Feb 2008, 19:09

I have a 2003 Saturn ION with a little over 100,000 miles. Had a timing chain failure as all the others in this bog. When I took the head to have it rebuilt (had valve failure) the exhaust cam looked like it hadn't had any oil on it while the intake one was fine. The exhaust cam bearings were burned and the head was no good. I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem?

22nd Feb 2008, 12:31

I too had the timing chain go at 54,000 miles on my 2001 L200 2.2L. Paid $1100 in 2005 to get it fixed. Received a notice in the mail Jan. 08' that they had finally recalled the timing chain. I called saturn to see if the one that they had replaced the first time, needed to be done again. It did. I also got reimbursed for the $1100 that I spent already. As I should. As long as you had the timing chain replaced at a Saturn dealer, they will refund all of your money. One thing is though, I'm not sure if I was notified about all of the recalls. Does anyone have a link to find every recall for this car? I've looked everywhere and the timing chain recall is not even posted yet.

4th Mar 2008, 20:12

I purchased a used 2001 L200 just over a year ago, and had been very happy with the car. I got the recall notice in the mail for the timing chain, so I took it in to get it repaired. 500 miles later the crank seal went out and took the bearings with it; the dealer said they removed the crank cover and seal, but do not replace the seal, just put the old one back in. Now they want $7000 for a new motor, they say it has nothing to do with what they did; they say the seal will freeze and rip. Anyone heard of this?

20th Mar 2008, 12:07

Add me to the long list of people who have lost a timing chain, and had further damage to the valves. It happened at about 60 MPH, but on a sparsely traveled road, so there was no danger. The car, a 2001 L200, had about 102K miles on it. I made it longer than most people. To the one recently that got a recall notice, I wish I had received one. I did not. While my total bill was over $2400, part of that was for front brakes and rotors, so I actually feel pretty lucky. Thank you for lifting my spirits.

15th May 2008, 15:34

Add another one to the list. Not my car, but my sister's '02 Saturn L200. Last week, they came by my house on their way back from vacation in Branson. The car had ran perfect all week, and they got in it to go home and it would not start.

Took it into the mechanics, and no compression and all symptoms point to yet another timing chain failure. Their estimate is $2200 to $2400 minimum and the value of the car is only $6300. Just over 96,000 miles on it.

I live in Arkansas, they live in Central, Oklahoma so I had to take them home and the car is still stuck here. Reading all of these comments with similar problems makes me sick to my stomach.

16th May 2008, 15:16

I'm the sister from the previous comment.

Just wanted to make sure I added this. I purchased the car new in September 2002. I'm meticulous about changing the oil every 3000 miles and keeping up with all of the suggested regular scheduled maintenance. With the exception of oil and tires (I live 50 miles from the dealership.) ALL maintenance to this point has been done at a Saturn dealership.

In response to some other comments about no problems to this point. I had no issues with the vehicle until the first of this year. In January I took it in for a vehicle inspection, as I was getting ready for an across country trip. I had the catalytic converter replaced at that time, and several other "minor" things replaced. A month later on the cross country trip, the fuel pump went out just inside the Texas panhandle and had it towed to the dealer in Amarillo.

At no time was I warned of any other potential problems with the car. I was completely unaware of this issue until my brother started looking for information online, when his mechanic told us that based on what we told him happened, and what he found, it seemed unusual that the engine would just quit out of nowhere. I just thank the Lord that it didn't happen the day before when we were driving from Branson to my brother's house in northern Arkansas through the Ozark Mts., two lanes, no shoulder... (You get the idea.)

12th Jun 2008, 19:33

I'm starting to see a pattern here. I have a 2001 Saturn L200 with 72k. Until now the only trouble has been with the other recall, possessed rear tailights. My experience is nothing new... car was running perfectly and then stalled. It was towed to private mechanic who discovered the broken timing chain; bent valves, cracked cylinder head, and every other form of mechanical destruction.

Saturn dealer confirmed a recent recall on 2001 L200 timing chains, BUT determined, based on my VIN, my car is excluded from the recall. Saturn corporate suggested I have the car towed to the dealer for diagnosis. While the representative stated that she can make "NO PROMISES", she urged me to bring the car in to a dealer since Saturn has been known to extend recall coverage to excluded vehicles.

Bottom line: Without any screaming, yelling, threatening, disrespect or suggestion of poor vehicle maintenance, Saturn has offered to cover my tow bill and install a new engine with a $250 copay. While I was curious as to how Saturn arrived at the $250 amount, I figured I made out like a bandit and simply said "THANK YOU."

I understand I'm one of the lucky ones. I imagine the situation would have been different had this occurred prior to the recall. How can a company avoid a recall on something so serious from 2001-2008?

To anyone who has a vehicle exempt from the recall, stand firm and press Saturn for relief. There is precedent!

17th Jun 2008, 14:00

Same story. 2001 Saturn L200. Never received a letter in the mail regarding the recall. I made it to 87000 miles, and without warning, as I was merging onto I5, my car was left immobilized thanks to a broken timing chain. This happened maybe 3 weeks ago. I called the dealership and they decided not to tell me about the recall on these timing chains. Instead they sold me an 1100 dollar brand new cylinder head, which is completely unnecessary considering the only damaged parts of the head are 6 valves and the timing chain. All together with timing chain, cylinder head, and head bolts, this breakdown has ran me out of about 1250 dollars.. and that's doing all the labor work myself. Who knows how much someone would have to pay to get this professionally done.

Anyways, I saw the recall on this message board on a whim, called Saturn talked to a very nice lady, and hopefully something will get done to help me out here.

My main stem of disappointment is that you really cannot trust any type of professional mechanic to give you a fair diagnostic and/or work on your car these days. This is also apparently true for our renowned Saturn dealers : (

I'll definitely update, and let you know if Saturn ignores me, or hooks it up with some repair costs.